(1/9) Cherish Tulasi Seva

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly district,
24 February 2019, evening, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Nobody lives in starvation if they serve Tulasi. Tulasi is very dear to the Lord, so the Lord will arrange everything for those who serve her. You have heard the kirtan we chant during Tulasi parikrama: 'Yako darase parase agha-nasa hoi (যাঁকো দরশে পরশে অঘনাশ হোই). By seeing you or by touching you, all sins are destroyed.' Even just seeing Tulasi is very auspicious. For example, if you are in a car and see Tulasi growing on the side of the road, you may not be able to get out of the car to offer your obeisance to her with your head, but you can fold your palms and offer your obeisance in this way. Tulasi is the mistress of Vrindavan. She is always manifest (she does not need to be 'installed' by anybody). Vaishnavs and Tulasi are always self-manifest. So, what happens when you offer your obeisance to Tulasi? It makes the Lord happy.

The Lord Himself says, 'Those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees. My devotees are the devotees of My devotees.' That is why we always pay our obeisances to Tulasi, we always worship Tulasi. If you just see Tulasi or touch Tulasi, it destroys your sins. You will become free from sin.

In our country, people often keep Tulasi but whenever something happens at home and they consider it inauspicious (for example, somebody dies), they do not water Tulasi. This is wrong. You cannot keep Tulasi fasting. Everybody can give water to Tulasi, even if they are in some bad state. For example, ladies have their monthly problems, but even they can water and worship Tulasi, it is not a problem. You must always offer water to Tulasi.

So, 'yako darase parase aghanasa hoi (যাঁকো দরশে পরশে অঘনাশ হোই). By seeing you, Tulasi, or by touching you, all sins are destroyed.' 'Agha' means a sin. All sins are destroyed just by seeing or touching Tulasi. Another line from this kirtan is 'Chhappanna bhoga, chhatrisa byanjana bina tulasi prabhu eka nahi mani (ছাপ্পান্ন ভোগ, ছত্রিশ ব্যঞ্জন বিনা তুলসী প্রভু এক নাহি মানি). The Lord does not accept any of fifty-six grain offerings or thirty-six vegetable offerings without Tulasi leaves.' Even if you make the most opulent offering, the Lord will not accept anything without Tulasi.

One time, there was a debate. Somebody asked Krishna, 'Who is greater, You or Your devotee? Who is greater, You or Your Name?' Krishna admitted, 'My Name is greater than Me because My Name possesses more power.' Then, the devotee said, 'All right, let us see it!' The devotee wrote Krishna's Name on a leaf of Tulasi and put it on a pair of scales. Krishna sat on one side of the scales and the leaf was placed on the other side. The side where the leaf of Tulasi with Krishna's Name was immediately went down – it outweighed Krishna. In this way, Krishna proved that His Name was greater than He Himself.

Remember these things. Do Tulasi parikrama every day. It is not like I come here, show you this parikrama, and after that you do not do it yourselves. When you bring hired singers to sing lila-kirtans and pala-kirtans, they will never tell you these things because they only come to sing and take your money. They are the ones who benefit (they get money), but what benefit is it to you? We do not come here to do this. We come to teach this world, to teach people – we come to help others.

করিতেছ উপকার, যাতে পর উপকার,
লভে জীব শ্রীকৃষ্ণ-সেবায়

karitechchha upakara, yate para upakara,
labhe jiva sri-krsna-sevaya

'Your benevolent kindness is such that receiving it, souls get the benefit of attaining service to Lord Krishna.'

(Acharya Vandana)

So, wherever you see Tulasi, even if it is in a forest, we can take a leaf and make an offering to the Lord with it – we offer it with His bhoga and place it at His holy feet.

This is the consciousness with which we do Tulasi parikrama. If you do Tulasi parikrama, you automatically do the parikrama of Vrindavan.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Cherish Tulasi Seva
2) Know Thyself
3) Align Yourself with Your Soul
4) Appealing to Intelligence
5) Turn Karma Into Seva
6) Mental Hunger
7) No Cheating
8) Kali's Poison
9) A Taste of Sadhu-Sanga